Eastern Oklahoma State College

PROJECT PURPOSE

This project addresses the need for nursing professionals and nursing education infrastructure in rural healthcare. Nursing education in the community college setting provides an affordable and accessible avenue for associate degree education that also supports educational mobility. The curriculum reflects study in both nursing, general education, and health-related sciences. Nursing at Eastern is supportive of both the generic and LPN/EMTP transitional tracks leading to an associate degree in applied science. The nursing workforce in rural Oklahoma faces severe shortages, and rural residents in Oklahoma receive less healthcare than do urban dwellers. These challenges highlight the need for nursing professionals (RN) in rural practice who have specific knowledge of rural people and places. In summary, Eastern will 1) provide additional opportunities for LPN/EMPT transitions to our RN program, 2) increase nursing-specific recruiting and tutoring,3) increase the quality and quantity of nursing simulation experiences by increasing the technology used and 4) increase the lab experiences of pre-nursing students to allow them to be better prepared for entry into the nursing program. Additional funding will increase our capacity by 25% and retention numbers. Our current capacity is 150 freshman and sophomores, with the new funds we can grow our capacity to 190 students.

EVIDENCE

Rural populations face increasing disparities in many health outcomes and a significant gap in life expectancy. Nurses are essential to positive health outcomes in rural areas. Eastern Oklahoma State College has nursing education programs in Idabel, McAlester, and Wilburton. Qualified Nursing faculty is important to the success and growth of our program. Providing an additional stipend for existing faculty will help meet that goal. Increasing access to our LPN transition program will help to increase the number of students graduating as RN?s. We must supply our students with up-to-date resources and equipment. Utilizing funds to upgrade our labs will help to increase student retention and completion and thus increase the number of RN?s in our communities.

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

Rural populations face increasing disparities in many health outcomes and a significant gap in life expectancy compared to urban populations. At the heart of these disparities is a lack of access to healthcare, which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many rural areas have a shortage of healthcare providers and lack a hospital or similar facility. Many rural hospitals have closed or are at financial risk of closure, which further impairs the local healthcare workforce. Nursing care is instrumental in achieving quality outcomes for patients, families, and communities and is the largest sector of the healthcare workforce. This situation is especially true in rural areas. Given the lack of access to specialists, the rural nurse is essential, in treating patients with diverse and sometimes complicated conditions. Rural nurses are generalists, providing any care needed, such as dispensing medicine and treating patients with acute health problems or injuries for transfer to larger facilities. Many rural nurses have spent their entire lives in the same community and possess a deep understanding of the community. This proposal will address the shortage of healthcare providers by creating a 25% increase in professional nurses in those rural areas that are most at risk.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

The three most common performance outcome measures used by Boards of Nursing (BON) and other health profession accreditors are employment rates, completion rates, and NCLEX pass rates. In addition to these performance indicators, we will report the number of nursing graduates at Eastern. These four performance indicators will be recorded and presented to the House and Senate fiscal offices. This report will be presented on an annual basis once the grant is awarded.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

Able to continue operation without additional funding from the State of Oklahoma